Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/143

 9* s. iv. sum. 16,-99.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 231 of Henry VIII. Will the Colonel deny that there was a church, and that the castle was associated with the Breos family as well as Oxwich, &c. 1 But the fact is, the castle of Llangennith, which the Colonel says is not mentioned in the lawsuit of the Earl of Warwick, 1396, belonged to the family of De la Mere. Welsh history tells us that Llewelyn ap Gruffydh took the castle of Llan Genew; and does not the ' Liber Landavensis' speak of it asConui Langenei, Langemei, Llangenyd, Lancinith, <fec. 1 while Iolo Morganwg (E. Williams) informs his readers that S. Cennydd formed a bangor in Llan Gennyddin. Gower, and another in Sein Henyd (Caerphilly). The Colonel's conclusion that because Sengnenydd was in the sixteenth century written Sig- nith, therefore his Sein Henydd might well become Sweines, may be met by reminding him that Senghenydd was so named from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, while Swansea with its orthographical variations covers seven centuries. Finally, with regard to what the Colonel wishes to remind Prof. Skeat of, may I say the Colonel suggested elsewhere that the word Sweynes "is mit a Norman corruption of a Welsh word "1 Alfred Chas. Jonas, F.S.A. (Scot.). The Authorship of ' The Red, White, and Blue' (9th S. iv. 164).—The statement that Thomas A. Becket wrote this well-known song is, I venture to say, inaccurate in face of the following. In my ' Stories of Famous Songs' I attributed, on what seemed sufficient ground, the authorship to Timothy Dwight. A nephew of David Taylor Shaw wrote to me in 1898, sending the song as 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,' and showing that this Mr. Shaw, an English singer and entertainer, who was born at Everton, Liverpool, in 1813, and died there, after a long sojourn in America, in 1890, was the author and com- rser. In all the printed versions of the song have seen David Taylor Shaw's name ap- pears as author and composer. He wrote several other pieces for his own entertain- ment. It was written at the time when war was looming large on the horizon between England and Russia—when England and France were joining forces, and the British flag of union was floating beside the red, white, and blue of France. Originally the words began with "Britannia, the pride of the ocean," and it was first sung in England. It was changed to " Columbia, the gem of the ocean," most likely by Mr. Shaw himself when he settled down in Baltimore for many years. The American version differs slightly from the English. I have both versions. The English song was introduced by Mr. E. L. Davenport into ' Black-ey'd Susan' when he revived that play in London during the Crimean War. Messrs. Stokes, of New York, published the American song, and they also issued an illustrated booklet of the work. Davidsons first issued it in England. S. J. A. F. I have seen several variants of this song, but never one in which Britannia is apostro- phized as the " gem of the ocean." Perhaps the most extremely popular version during the Crimean War was the one published in the 'Musical Bouquet' with the title, "Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean; or, the Red, White, and Blue, sung by E. L. Davenport in the drama of'Black-eyed Susan.'" Itsextreraely Jingoish and topical character may be gathered from the first verse, which ran as follows :— Oh ! Britannia the Pride of the Ocean, The Home of the Brave and the Free, The Shrine of the Sailor's devotion, No land can compare unto thee. Thy mandates make heroes assemble With Victoria's bright laurels in view, Thy Banners make tyranny tremble When borne by the Red, White, and Blue. This is apparently an adaptation of the version quoted at 8th S. xi. 376. C. C. B. 'A Great Historic Peerage' (9th S. iv. 184).—The Editor of ' N. & Q.' has long en- forced the wholesome regulation that ques- tions of politics and theology shall not be discussed in its pages. I think this rule might with good effect be extended so as to exclude all argument regarding the decisions of our courts of law. As, however, A. H. has drawn attention to the case of the earldom of Wiltes, I may, I trust, be permitted to do the same. No sensible man would ever think of calling in question the personal honour of the peers who decided against the late Mr. Scrope's claim to the Wiltes earldom ; but personal honour is one thing, and right judgment another. Peers even when acting in a judicial capacity are not gifted with infallibility, as A. H, if he be a student of the laws relating to the peerages of these islands, may perhaps have discovered. Not to mention other inter-. esting cases, did he ever hear of what occurred regarding the Mar titles ? I hold that, notwithstanding the Lords' decision, which took place many years ago, it is in a very high degree probable that if the case were brought on again, the decision would be in the present Mr. Scrope's favour, and I can assure A. H. that several persons among the living and the dead who have been or who now are among our highest